Before starting to describe our
time in the Samburu Game Reserve and the Samburu Simba Lodge, there are a couple
things I like for you to read. The first is a short section from our
primary guide book - DK Eyewitness Travel - Kenya, 2009. We
read a number of portions of this guide, especially those referencing places we
were to visit.

Sarnburu-Buffalo Springs-ShabaNational Reserves

The one part
of Northern ofKenya that attracts visitors in significant numbers is this trio of
ecologically affiliated and unfenced reserves, which collectively
protect 440 sq km (170 sq miles) of semiarid savannah flanking the
Ewaso Nyiro river. Their ecology is defined by the contrasting
habitats of riverine forest along the Ewaso Nyiro and austere acacia
scrub and rocky slopes extending outward from it. The reserves
probably offer the best chance of sighting leopard in Kenya, and lion,
elephant and buffalo are also quite common.

The main attraction, however, is a host of dry country specials
absent or rare in most other East African
parks. This includes mammals, such as Beisa oryx and gerenuk, and a
long list of birds of which the cobalt-chested vulturine guinea fowl
is the most spectacular.

Then, strangely enough, I read
the article below as I completed editing and inserting all the pictures I intended
to share. As we go through this section I will attempt to reflect upon the
paragraph below at several points.

Head
north from Nairobi toward Mount
Kenya and almost invariably you'll hit weather. Fog, rain, hail, even snow, all
unusual for the equator but a blessing for Mount Kenya's farmers, who export
coffee, roses, green beans and peas to Europe. Once you pass the mountain and
descend onto the dusty Samburu plain, however, the weather evaporates. The first
town you reach is Archer's Post, a collection of dusty shacks around a truck
stop. From here, says elder Leadisimo Lehgalee, 69, the Samburu are forced to
watch the daily deluge over Mount Kenya while enduring a drought on their land
that began in I997. Inevitably, jealousy and desperation turn to enmity.
"We rob them," says Lehgalee. "And they rob us back. We raid each
other's cattle, and we fight, we kill, and we die. That's the Samburu
life."

Time
Magazine – Dec. 13, 2010

Yes, they mean it.

We'll
take the "road" to the left - as we're in Kenya, even
"trail" is a misnomer. As you see. we'll actually be near
Buffalo Springs, and we're not the only lodge in the Reserve.

A
curiosity. Although Kenya is said to be a Muslim country, I think that is
entirely incorrect. This is one of only two mosques we saw in
Kenya. This one was just outside the entrance gate to the
reserve. There were no homes around it.

Dry,
dry, dry. These words would come to mind a hundred times as we
traveled. Here is what some of the country in the Reserve looked
like.

We
come upon the lodge.

As
with every lodge - a real eye-opener. Well built, beautiful,
artistic.

The
Reservation Desk

And
off we go!

A
NOTE: OK - I admit it - We took too many pictures. However, as many as we will share,
there were at least as many we discarded. The "picture problem"
was simple to define: Each time we saw something we thought it was
spectacular - Each time we saw an animal, we thought we might never see another
- Each time we saw one of the Africa Big Four, we stayed for an extended time
for pictures, and if you have time for pictures, especially of things you may
never see again, you take pictures.

And you can never have enough elephants! Ask Jackie.

These were just below our room - taken from our balcony.

We
walked up to the main section of the lodge, looked over the rail (no walls in
the lodge) and there were baboons.

One
male
One female

They
walked around a bit and then he proceeded to bite & beat her

Our
old friends, the Sykes Monkey

The
lodge had a large platform. Each time a group would come in, they would
throw a load of bread on the platform and every kind of bird would fly in.

One
of our favorite bird pictures

And there were
lizards

The
front gate to the lodge area

And
we start our first safari with Hodge as our guide

First we see zebras - you cannot image the excitement

Then
across the plains to find whatever we can see. These trees are icons
for Africa in my mind -

Do
you see
the termite mound?

If not the one in the center of that photo, here's one up close

And
we see our first Common Oryx.

And
there's a herd of them (a herd?)

We
were amazed, starting with this initial sighting, at all the young we saw - of
every specie

Again,
the African Icon - the Mara

This
is Archer's Post. Named after a small village near by, this was at one
time a trading post.

There
are only two bridges across the Ewaso Nyiro, and the one we would use at Buffalo
Springs was washed out. As we're in the midst of a seven year drought, how
long ago was it washed out, we wonder.

So
we bump and grind 20 kilometers away from our lodge to the only other bridge -
under construction.

Although
we can see the Ewaso Nyiro from our balcony, this is our
first of several up close views.

An
excellent piece of road ahead. Yep, that is a huge rock on the left, and
to its right an even larger pot hole, and to its left, some dirt that someone
at some time will fill the pot hole. Maybe that'll last a week or
two.

Got
too close to the van in front - cough, cough - choke, choke. Well, get use
to it!

If
you slow down, we'll get a bit less dust - see how far ahead he is?

This
sign is just outside, to the right, of this entrance. "Where Nature
Defies Itself" concerns a legend here. The legend goes
thus: A lioness killed a
hartebeest to eat. The lioness looked up and saw the deer's
small fawn. Rather than have the fawn for dessert, the lioness raised the
fawn as her own.

I
heard two endings to this story: 1) after the fawn was grown, the lioness
ate it. 2) As the lioness could not feed the fawn, it later starved to
death.

Anyway
- Samburu, Where Nature Defies Itself.

The
entrance

The
warning sign

And
we see a solitary zebra, hiding from the hot sun, in the shadows.

A
herd of Water Buck

These
are Grants Gazelles

Some
colorful vulture guineas.

There's
elephants out here somewhere -

No
other animal leaves s game track like this!

We
couldn't believe our eyes. Jackie shouts, "I think I see something in the
bush!" This

sight was so contrary to normal, we initially had difficulty
recognizing it and understanding what we saw. .

It is
a Gerenuk.

Almost looks like it should be part of the Giraffe family

And
we see a lone Grevey Zebra

And
this tiny bird

Termite
hills seem to be everywhere

More termite mounds

Down
the road we go

We're
not alone

Look
carefully - a hidden Dik Dik

More
waterbuck

A
patch into which you do not want to fall !

Down
the stream, in a big patch of brambles .........

Our
FIRST Lions !

Couldn't
get too close - but these are lions!

So
We'll take pictures anyway.

OK
- It seems this is one of their 16 hours of sleep a day.

Well,
someone is awake - but not much

I'm
no expert, but the scientific name for this can only be called a "Glob of
Lions"

A cute cub

You
can get too close!

We
come across a stunning location for a panorama shot.

Three
layers of mountains in the background - each with their unique shades of
color.

The
scenery and then the elephants encompassed by it, make for what I believe some
of our best pictures.

First
- the scenery

Add
elephants

This
scenery below is not quite a beautiful as those above,

BUT

You
can't have too many elephants

This
tree is not long for this life -

Elephants
doing what they do best!

Yes,
they do get close - and they pay no real attention

What
all could be hiding in the 3 to 4 foot tall brush?

Not
these elephants!

But
this waterbuck almost pulls it off!

As
do these birds

And
these Grants Gazelles

See
all the McDonald's Arches?

But
the elephant has no where to hide

So
down to the Ewaso Nyiro he goes

We see another on the other side of the river

The
elephants are not always far away in the brush -

kind'a close enough for you to
want to keep your
arm inside the vehicle

A
Grant's Gazelle watches us a we get closer to the river.

A
solitary elephant and a troop of baboons

This
is what elephants do best - tear trees to pieces!

Baboons
doing what they do best - look for food, take care of the youth, groom and climb

And
we go down the plain - with beautiful mountains in the distance

And
animals dot the plains

Is
there something in the brush - Yes - a Dik Dik. They stand maybe 18"
tall. They are small enough to be an appetizer for any carnivore - but the
strangest story is that birds of prey swoop down, grab the Dik Dik and fly high
enough to drop them to their death so they can then eat them.

And
a stunning bird

And
the monkeys are all around

A
bird of a different type - doing what it does best!

This
is a bit grim. As we went down the trail another vehicle from our group
had stopped. As we pulled up, they started on their way. As we
looked all around, we could not find whatever they had stopped to watch.
They called back "Look in the bush!" Only after a careful look
were we able to see the _____________ hawk camouflaged in the branches. He
was not about to leave as he had a fresh kill. OK, kind'a grim and we took
too many pictures!

c cc

And
our first of the Ostriches - a really, really big bird!

Two
males on the run. Hodge tells us there are two types of Ostrich,

and
this type has never been successfully domesticated.

A
small herd on the plain

We
see a family of wart hogs with a bunch of "little guys".
It is hilarious when they run - stumpy short legs look almost like wind-up toys,
and when they run, their tails go straight up in the air.

We're
about to return to the lodge and I mention that I will be sorely disappointed if
I don't see a giraffe while in Africa - remember this our second day and I have
no idea what we will see over the next 7 - 10 days. So I whine a bit
and Hodge makes a quick left turn away from the road to the lodge, and he finds
me some giraffes!

We
had a scheduled stop at a Maasai village on our itinerary. However that
afternoon Hodge took us to a Samburu village. There were some complaints
as everyone had heard of the Maasai, and no-one had heard of the Samburu.
Hodge ignores the faint protests and off we went.

It
wasn't until later - much later for some - that we learn to appreciate this
visit with the Samburu rather than the Maasai and how fortunate we were to meet
these people. OK, part of the visit was intended by the Samburu to
take advantage of us ill-informed and naive tourists, but on the whole, this was
one of the high-lights of the entire visit.

A
bit from our guidebook on the Samburu:

The
Samburu People

Loibor
Kineji, literally "people
of the white goats", is another name/or the Samburu.

Samburu
National Reserve is named after the Samburu people, close cultural affiliates of
the Maasai, with whom they share a common language called Maa. The two tribes
migrated together from their original homeland in Ethiopia or Sudan but split
near the Turkana area in the 17th century, with the Samburu settling on the
fringe of the Central Highlands and northern deserts, and the Maasai continuing
southwards.

Pastoralists
by tradition the Samburu cling staunchly to the ways of their forefathers. The
social system is based around three male age-sets, namely ilayoik, uncircumcised
boys who tend livestock, ilmoran, circumcised
warriors who defend the clan, and ilpayiani, elders who are responsible
for administration and law making. For the Samburu, the idea of God is stronglyassociated with large mountains, and elders are customarily buried
facing such a location.

The
Samburu people are nomadic pastoralists by custom, moving from
one temporary camp to the next in search
of water and grazing for their livestock. Their homes reflect this lifestyle,
being simple and somewhat impermanent structures of mud, wood and thatch.

The
main diet of the Samburu, who
seldom hunt and eat meat only on special occasions, is fermented
mix of cow's milk and blood,
sometimes times sweetened with honey.

Jackie
and I had brought three or four soccer balls and perhaps 15 boxes of pencils and
a number of pencil sharpeners for children. Hodge told us not to waste the
balls on the Samburu, which I thought was pretty callous until I later learned
how they live. He told us not to offer the pencils to the tribe'sElder or Chief, nor to just pass them out
to children we saw; he would tell us when and to whom to give the
pencils.

We
were greeted by several men, both elders and younger males. One of the younger
men introduced himself to us and make a fairly formal introduction of the Tribe
Elder.

This
is the young man who became our guide for the next couple hours. I am
embarrassed because I've forgotten his name. Perhaps one of those with whom
we traveled remembers and will tell me.

Our
village guide

The
warriors of the tribe did a traditional dance we normally associate with the
Maasai - who ever heard of the Samburu - with their very high vertical jumps
into the air. Their jumps were very difficult for me to time to photograph
as the pause between pressing the button and the shutter is too long. So, imagine
the height they reached....

And,
of course, they invited the less reserved of our group to join them

Canadian and Virginian Samburu "Warriors"

We'll
learn more about this stern looking fellow later - we are about to give him the
pencils.

And
now its the ladies' turn

This
princess was "given" a necklace, as was each woman in our group.
Each man was also given some piece of Samburu jewelry to wear.

We
met this wonderful lady after the dancing died down. Her name was
Jackie! She had the most beautiful smile and her young child is cute as
only a baby can be. She spoke no English, but we had the chance to
"talk" for about five minutes.

Below
we have married and an unmarried Samburu women. Can you tell which is
married - unmarried?

No,
Allison is not with the tribe, and is
married.

The
single woman has red beads. Only the married females are allowed to wear
the multi-colored necklaces

These
are typical Samburu huts -

This
is a Samburu goat pen. It is made of thorn bushes to keep the goats in and
the lions out. A friend on mine from what was Biafra told me his
entire village was encompassed with a thorn bush fence for the same
reason.

I
asked our guide if this thorn bush fence was really needed. He
explained that about ten days ago the guard ( a young man not yet a warrior who
is posted throughout the night with the goats ) Heard a disturbance - a
lion had jumped the thorn bush fence. He went in to chase the lion.
It turned on him and slashed his neck with his claws and bit his arm before
running off. The young man is now at the "Mission", a Catholic
church / clinic , recovering.

We
were invited into the guide's hut.

Colorful
linins hang just inside he walls and provide both space from the mud/thatch
walls and a bit of storage space.

The
hut is divided into three basic units - the sleeping are where Jackie stands,
and the cooking area, seen to the right, and the entrance area with a baby goat,
seen below.

I
was unable to take pictures without flash, and I didn't want to interrupt the
guide with too many flashes.

A
group of goats huddled right outside the entrance.

This
gentleman was the Fire Maker. Evidently there are two in the
village. They are important as they are the only ones permitted to make
fire. They first make fire each morning and women come from each hut to
collect their fire for their cooking area.

All
fires are required to be extinguished after cooking, and no fires are allowed in
the camp during the day. When asked why they have this prohibition, we
were told it was tradition and to prevent children from being burned.

Then
at night, they make the evening fire, and again each hut comes for their fire
for the night.

He
put on a demonstration of how he made fire, with his assistant, by rubbing a
stick between his hands that has a pointed end placed on another flat piece of
wood. It was explained that both the stick and the base were each a
special type of wood. They started the fire with a bit of dry grass and
cow manure.

It
took exactly 60 seconds from start to flame!

Them
we met the children! Lovely, beautiful children.

And
yes, the stern man with the stick, to whom we gave the pencils, was the
"school master". He is responsible for teaching the children,
establishing tradition, managing
behavior and group activities. He is as stern as he looks, but I
didn't see him hit anyone with his stick. He has that "look" your mother
or
father had - so I guess he didn't need the stick for disciplinary
purposes.

Very, very tired and grumpy - picked up and fell asleep in a minute

Yes,
he is smiling - in his fashion - as he gets ready to pass out pencils.

The
children sang several songs - in English. They sang both the Alphabet Song
and the Numbers Song, as well as a couple numbers in Maas. Kids are
cute where ever you find them.

We
next met the number two man in the tribe, the tribe's Blacksmith. He is
second in command should the Village Elder not be available.

At
his location, as you see he is was working some metal as we arrived, there were any
number of souvenirs for the tourist visitors. Just prior to
this short walk to his location, we were given a short speech on the fact more
kids could go to school if they had adequate clothes. We were asked
to make donations, and many of us did. Now we had out initial
opportunity to purchase items.

To
complete the purchase, I had to go with our village guide acting as an
interpreter, to the Blacksmith, and make an offer. The offer was
translated, and his response, a much higher price, was translated back to
me. I made a counter offer - translated and declined - and then a final
offer, which was accepted. Whew! I don't know if anyone else
bought at this point, seeing the process.

Scenes
as we walked through the village

As
our walk, and our visit concluded, we were asked if we would like to purchase
the necklaces, beads and jewelry which we had worn throughout the visit.
In addition, the women had spread out any number of additional offerings.

I
noticed the men were gathered around a tree as we drove in. I thought it
was because there was shade. Actually they were playing what appears
to be a board game. The board looks familiar, but I don't know
why.

As
we walked back to the vans, I got a picture of women from another village
carrying their load.

A
NOTE on the Samburu Visit:

The
more I learn about the Samburu, the more pleased I am that we visited their
village, and not one of another tribe, such as the Maasai. Although this
was certainly a touristy stop, I feel very strongly that any other tribe's village would
have been nothing more than a tourist trap.

The
Samburu and the Maasai actually wear the colorful clothes and beads seen in the
village in their everyday life. This is another example of their dedication to
tradition. Our guide was very matter of fact about how they
live. There was no embarrassment or hesitation as he answered our
questions. For example - We asked if they practice female circumcism.
His answer was yes. We asked why - he answered, "It is our tradition,
the way we live."

We
asked about his education, as he spoke English exceptionally well.
He told us he goes to school for three months and is back home for a
month. We asked if everyone goes to school. He said only about 3 go
to school. (I never got a really clear answer about girls going to
school.) We asked how he got to attend school. He told us he was a
very poor cattle herder. One day he lost a cow - the Elder came up
to him and said, "Tomorrow you go to school." He told us
he was sick for several weeks when he went to school because of the water.
He told us he was used to, and enjoyed, the muddy / cloudy water brought from
the river, but the pure water at the school made him ill.

He
told us the Maasai and the Samburu were together but split up about 170 years
ago. He said the Maasai moved to the north and higher elevations
because it was too hot for them here, and the Samburu moved here because it was
too cold for them in the north. While men in both tribes are
tall and thin, and wear the same outfits, he told us how to tell a Samburu
warrior from a Maasai warrior. Both wear bright red materials representing
the blood they drink, but the Samburu wear their red cloths tied around their
waist, while the Maasai wear theirs tied on their shoulder.

As
we saw chickens running around the village, and there were goats and cows in the
fields everywhere, we asked what the Samburu eat. He told us the women eat
the chickens sometime, but the warrior men only eat the blood of the cows, mixed with
goat's milk - period. They do very rarely eat meat, but only on very
special occasions. No mention of any vegetables or starch.

He,
as well as the guide books, emphasized the Samburu were nomadic. When
asked how long his village had been at this location, he told us they had been
here 10 months, but if it did not rain in the next 30 days, they would move from
here. The women tear down the huts and rebuild them at the new site
- it takes about three days to build the hut.

Hodge
told me we went to the Samburu village rather than the ones indicated on our itinerary
because the Samburu actually live the way we saw them, were unchanged over
hundreds of years, and live strictly by their traditions - unlike any other
tribes left in Kenya.

Dust,
cramped huts, dirty water, lions in the night, walking miles and miles for
anything, herding cattle and goats all day, burning goat feces for mosquito
protection, eating nothing other than blood mixed with goat's milk, moving everything
and rebuilding our huts regularly, trying to exist in a seven year drought
- Jackie and I agreed that in our best days of our lives, we wouldn't last a
week.

NOW
THIS NEXT PART IS A BIT GRUESOME - MAYBE YOUR KIDS SHOULD SKIP THIS
SECTION

A
mother cheetah has just his moment brought back a fresh kill for her cub. Hodge tells us that she sits and watches at this point to see if
the youngster has learned how to open up the kill.

The
cub approaches the kill

The
next pictures really don't require descriptors.

The
mother cheetah has lain, panting this entire time. She must have been
exhausted in this heat, having made the kill and dragging it back to the
youngster.

Isn't she stunning?

Meanwhile
the young cheetah is still trying his best

Did
he open the reedbuck up?

Success!

Mom
watches and comes over for a look.

The
youngster is settling in for a meal

Mom's
on her way

Then
she decides to rearrange the dinner table

Yes,
there are a number of folks watching - doesn't seem to bother mother and cub
at all. BUT, I wouldn't want to see what would happen if someone got
out of a van!

Do
we see a bit of pride of accomplishment in her eye?

Mom
gets a bite.

And
they continue as we drive away.

Not
a bit further down the trail, Charles says, "I swear I've seen ground
hogs." We look over a a termite mount and see what he means:

Just
what is this?

The
termite mound is infested with a number of mongoose ( mongooses / mongeeses ? )

This
may be what the cheetah's deer will look like in a day or two. Can't
tell what this was.

Look
Out! Wart hogs on the way through!

Let
there be elephants!

How
about a ___________ or two?

This
__________ hawk would like to see these ____________.

Or
maybe this ________ hawk would like the pleasure.

Hodge
points out the only type of palm tree in the world that has branches. We thought this one
to be a terrific example - yes, one very photogenic tree

On
the other side of the river, where we saw the elephant and the baboons
yesterday, a van full of fellow tourists have been stuck in the soft sand.

The
guides are allowed out, but the tourist must stay in the van

And
more elephants along the sides of the river.

Do you notice something
distinctive about this mother elephant?
She is very special and very well known.

Can you see why?

She
has no tusks. (and a REALLY cute baby - a month old)

If
you do not think this baby is cute you have no soul!

Do
you notice the "things" in the tree over the giraffe? Spinner
Birds again.

And
we drop back by the cheetahs. Moved the table again, but still hungry.

Hodge
tells us they will eat their fill and leave the kill. They will not try to
hide it nor will they fight any other animal for the kill. When they are
hungry, they will kill again. Such is life among the predators and
prey.

We
end this afternoon's safari and go back to the lodge to have dinner and pack to
leave tomorrow.

NOTE:
None of these lodges are fenced in. At all lodges have separate cabins
(all except for the first one at the watering hole) At ALL lodges, after
dinner it is dark, and personnel escort you back to your cabin. This
because you are, after all, in the middle of a game preserve full of wild
animals. Many of the animals, particularly predators are out at night.

We
overheard a conversation between a tourist and either a guide or someone employed
at a lodge. The tourist was saying something about how beautiful the
nights were, with unusual bird and animal calls and a clear, starry filled
sky. She loved her walks in the night outside and around her cabin.
She was told in no uncertain terms not to ever go out at night - "Don't you
understand we have lions walking around here?"